European Cooperation (Aug 2019)
NEOLIBERALISM AS AN APPROACH IN POSTMODERN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Abstract
The article revises the neo-liberal postmodern approach to public administration within the scientific paradigm by Ch. Fox and H. Miller. Within the framework of the relevant scientific construct, the researchers identified three leading approaches (neo-liberalism, constitutionalism and communitarianism) designed to replace the outdated model of the modern (orthodox) government. The justification for the postmodern public administration could contribute to the modernization of public management practices in the world in general and in Ukraine in particular. The systematization of the imperatives of the neoliberal approach to public administration is one of the stages of the above-mentioned justification. The purpose of the paper is to reveal the content and application potential of the neoliberal approach within postmodern public administration, to research its main ideas and tools. Methodological basis of the study consists of logical methods (synthesis, analysis, induction, etc.), as well as special ones (historical, systemic, comparative). As a result of the study, it was found that the content of the neoliberal approach to public administration deals with marketization of the public sector in order to conduct de-bureaucratization and efficiency improvements. The main tools in the process are performance evaluation and audit, contracting out, privatization, implementation of incentive system, and management. Compared with the orthodox model of public administration, the neoliberal counterpart has certain advantages, in particular, the refusal to prevail standardized rules and regulations in favor of outcomes. Nevertheless, at the same time, the neoliberal approach remains faithful to the rational traditions of reality perception. Despite significant practical results, the shortcomings of the neo-liberal postmodern model of public administration (opportunities for corruption and overestimation of the efficiency measuring system) were described.
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